What is Career Counseling - What does a Career Counselor Do

What is Career Counselling?

Career counseling is a consultation process in which a professional career counselor assesses a candidate to find out his/her hidden talents, undiscovered strengths and spot out the weak characteristic traits. Based on the assessment, the career counselor provides the best suggestions for the scope of improvement. Basically, which aims to help the candidate in understanding his/her real potential so he can do best in a particular field. It also helps an individual to find the right career path suitable for his profile. 

Career guidance plays an important role in the career development of an individual. It is quite obvious that our career is influenced by many factors such as interest, abilities, skill sets, dedication, personality, societal expectations, education, budget, and so on. But sometimes we get so mixed up with all these factors that we lose our ability to make the right decision. This is when career counselling comes in as a savior of a career.

Benefits of Career Counseling:

We have listed the various benefits of career guidance below, Have a look :

• Career counseling helps you to explore your undiscovered talents, traits, and weaknesses. After which you can enhance your positives and improve your negative traits/qualities.
• Career counselling helps you to open up and provides you a platform to share your thoughts, ideas, opinions, feelings, and concerns about your career or anything associated with it. Its all about attentive listening and all your discussion will remain confidential in counselling for the career.
• It will help you to identify the factors which are going to put a huge impact on your career development. 
• Getting career guidance can also help you to get alert about the obstacles which will come your way during your career development phase.
• It also helps you in building networks and links which will be beneficial for your career development.
• It will help you in preparing a career itinerary and roadmap that will help you to reach the milestones on time.

Importance of Career Counseling:

If you are still asking yourself “Why is career counselling so important ?” Then you are way behind in your mind. You need to understand that career counseling has now become a necessity.

We are discussing the 3 Major Reasons to take career counseling:

Reason 1:

Career Counselling has become more important now because our current generation is more confused about their career goals and ambitions than the previous ones. We all have to know someone who opted for a different stream in 10th and then pursued a completely different degree after 12th and after graduation, he again switched his/her career path.

This is what we call “uncertainty” and “confusion”. That is why career counseling has become so important now.

Reason 2:

The global market is evolving and the industry needs more specialized professionals to cater to the needs of the market. In spite of this evolution, people are still sticking to the mediocre industries and mediocre professions which is causing high supply and less demand in these particular industries.

For instance - There was a time when civil engineering was a lucrative career and had a huge demand in the Indian market but now the field is overflowing with civil engineers. This needs to be stopped!

Reason 3:

Lack of skills and wrong career choice is the root cause of unemployment in India. That is why career guidance is more important now than ever. Career counseling can help you to explore new career options with a lucrative income.

Albert Einstein said “everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid"  which means each and every person has a unique ability to do something great but if we will judge the person’s potential by putting him/her in our idea of intelligence, then the person is going to think of himself as a failure and going to struggle with the thought of being a loser during his entire life.

Therefore to carve a person’s unique abilities and talents, one needs career guidance/ career counselling from the experts. 

What is Online Career Counselling?

It means consulting the career counselor by using online modes. In online career counselling, the interaction is either done on phone or on other digital mediums. The assessment tests are also conducted online and the student does not need to visit the career counselor to get the counseling session.

Usually, the sessions are conducted on online video chat platforms like Zoom, Microsoft, Google meet, or any other. The assessment report and student profile analysis report are also sent online to the candidate. 

In short, the entire process takes place on digital platforms, and candidates do not need to visit the counselor for an offline counselling session.

Online career counseling has been in existence for many years but it gained popularity after the Covi-19 outbreak. During the time of the global pandemic, the schools and colleges were unoperational. People were anxious about their/their child’s career and education.

And many have reached us (College Disha) to get online career counselling. We are an educational and career guidance portal that provides both offline and online career counselling services. We’ve remained operational even in times of pandemic and helped many students to overcome their career insecurities and assisted them in finding suitable careers, courses, and colleges. 

Where Can I Get Online Career Counseling?

If you are searching for the best career guidance online in India, then “College Disha” is your guide. To get online career counseling from the best online career counseling company click here and fill up the required details.

Best Career Counseling Websites in India:

Career Counseling is a constant process, As we earlier said that "Rome was not built in a day" and neither do successful careers. To build a successful career, an individual needs to seek career counseling several times at various stages of their life.

You can take the help of various career counseling websites which are targeted at Indian students. Some of the best career counseling websites in India are mentioned below:

1. www.collegedisha.com
2. www.mindler. com
3. www.careers360. com
4. www.idreamcareer. com
5. www.shiksha. com

What Does a Career Counselor Do?

A career counselor is a professional who is certified and trained to provide professional advice to students and young people. Many students are clueless about the career counseling process and wonder “what does a career counselor do?” Well, career counselors provide career advice based on some analysis and assessment tests. They use various assessment tools to understand the candidate's profile.

The roles and responsibilities of a career counselor involve:

• A career counselor is someone who listens to all your career-related concerns, dilemmas and helps you to overcome them.
• The career counselor runs various assessment tests to analyze the little details about you and your talents.
• It is a responsibility of a career counselor to maintain confidentiality especially if a candidate wants so!
• A career counselor gives you advice that can be fruitful for your career.
• A career counselor helps you to make your career journey easy and convenient by providing time to time useful advice.
• Your Counsellor also helps you to recognize the threats and opportunities for your career
• The counselor provides you referrals and recommendations to the resources and networks that can help you to grow in your career.
• Career counselors also help the candidate to learn the interviewing techniques and create a job resume, cover letters, etc.
• Sometimes a career counselor helps the candidate to identify and get rid of the toxic behavioral traits and habits which can lead to a major downfall in their career.

What is Career Assessment?

A career assessment is a series of tests that are conducted to evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes, skills, talents, and interest areas. They are designed scientifically by using psychological patterns. During career assessment, you are evaluated on the basis of various parameters.

These parameters help the career counselor to predict your potential career path. Career Assessment is a very important part of career counseling as it helps the career counselor to determine all the qualities and talents you possess, which subsequently affects your career.

What Happens During Career Counseling?

Thinking about getting career counseling and wondering “what happens during career counseling?” Well, Career counseling is usually taken to get professional guidance for making a major career decision like choosing a course, career, college, saying yes to a job opportunity, switching the career, or discussing any other career-related uncertainty.

• During Career counseling, an individual gets a platform that allows him to express his career-related concerns and insecurities in front of an entrusted and professional counselor who is qualified to help him out of his insecurities.
• Career counseling starts with a general interaction where a candidate speaks his heart out about his career expectations and confusions.
• After a healthy interaction, a career counselor conducts the needful assessment tests to identify the problem and potential solutions.
• On the basis of the observation, assessment tests, and candidate profile analysis, the career counselor prepares a report pertaining to the SWOT analysis of the candidate (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat).
• On the basis of this analysis report, the counselor gives the best possible advice to the candidate.

What are the Advantages of Career Counselling After 10th?

• Career counseling always benefits you. No matter which standard you are in, no matter how old you are! You can always get benefitted from career counseling. Candidates often take career counseling right after completing 10th to start early planning of their career. Come on, let’s take a look at the advantages of career counseling after the 10th:
• Career counselling after the 10th helps students to make a more informed stream selection. After completing 10th, every student has to choose his/her stream in which he/she would like to complete his/her higher secondary education. This decision puts a major impact on their future career prospects. Therefore, to make a better stream choice, the candidates should get career counseling after completing 10th.
• Career counseling after completing 10th can help you to get insights into the various trends which are being followed in the industry. 
• Early preparation always pays off.  With the help of career counseling you can pre-plan your career journey, you can make yourself ready for the upcoming challenges, and meet the standards of the industry by upskilling yourself by the time you get into college.
• It can also help you in developing some personality traits that can become resourceful for your career. 

What are the Advantages of Career Counseling after 12th?

Taking career counseling after the 12th has become a necessity for every student these days.

It has various benefits such as:

• Going for Career Counseling after 12th helps you to prepare a career timeline and an effective strategy to achieve your career goals. 
• Another advantage of career counseling after 12th is that helps you to clear up your mind and provides you with a vision for your future and career
• It helps you to choose the right education field that suits your sets of abilities, aptitude, interests, talents, and potential.
• Taking career counselling will help in getting rid of the toxic habits that can adversely affect your future and career.
• It can help you to overcome your fears, insecurities, and low-self esteem issues.
• Career counseling after 12th can also help to fill the gap between parents and students by sorting out their differences caused by each other’s opposed “career” decisions.

How much does Career Counseling Cost in India?

The cost of career counseling in India depends on the counselor and the career counseling company offering it. Getting a career counseling session from a self-employed career counselor costs higher than consulting a career counseling company.

One counseling session with a self-employed career counselor can cost you Rs 1500 to Rs 5000. And it is hard to get answers to all of your questions in a single counseling session, so it might be possible that you have to go for 5 or more counseling sessions and the cost will increase according to your no. of visits.

On the other hand, if you take career counseling from a career guidance company like "College Disha", then your career counseling will be lesser. Most career guidance companies like "College Disha" offer you various career counseling services in a subscription package. That means you can access no. of services at a single cost. 

At College Disha, you can get access to all of their services only at Rs 9999. To know more about College Disha’s subscription plan, Click here.

When should I go for Career Counseling?

Due to uninformed guidance, many people struggle in their careers. Poor life decisions and career decisions can lead you to unsatisfactory careers and depressing life. But how come are you going to figure out that you need career counseling? Well, here are the 13 signs that You need Career guidance:

• You have just completed your 10th and want to know in which stream you can perform the best and build a career associated with that stream.
• You have just completed your school and you are wondering what course/college/career field is best for you.
• You are uncertain and confused about your career goals. 
• You have completed your college (graduation) and you are still clueless about what to do next 
• You are working in an unsatisfactory job and want to change things in your favor. 
• You are doing great in your job, being paid well but still, you are unhappy with your career.
• Your career decision didn't go well and you might have to face the consequences now.
• You are good at many things and that is why you are confused among so many career options 
• You can't focus on one career path, You lack focus.
• You are working in a toxic work environment but can't escape it due to the job security it offers.
• You work hard but you still aren’t getting what you deserve in your job.
• Unable to find a job as per your expectation.
• You want to switch your career path.

Best Career Counseling Company in India:

There are many career guidance companies in India that claim to be the best career counseling company in India and also claims that they offer the best career counseling services. However, it is quite difficult to identify a genuine career counselor or career counseling company that can meet all your expectations and provide satisfactory results.

Many people take career counseling to find a suitable career option while others seek counseling to get the answers to their career-related questions and doubts. There are very few career counselors that provide you with all the career counseling services under one roof. "College Disha" is one of those very few companies that offer you all the career solutions under one roof. Their unique approach has provided direction to the careers of thousands of young aspirants.

The most popular services offered by "College Disha" are as follows :

1. Course Counseling 

2. College Counseling 

3. Guidance from Industry Professionals

4. Internship Opportunity 

5. Off-Campus Placement 

6. 5-year Job Guarantee Card

The career guidance company “College Disha” is popular for its exclusive service “5 Year Job Guarantee Card” where the company provides an assurance to the candidate to provide complete job assistance for 5 years after completing the studies. This means that the candidate does not need to struggle much to find a good job. With College Disha, your job and your career are safe and secure.

Apart from the Job guarantee card, the company also offers another service - “guidance from professionals” which means that the students can get advice and suggestions from the industry’s leaders and renowned professors. You all may agree that getting guidance from the right people can help an individual to propel in life and this is why College Disha provides this service. The career guidance company is leaving no stone unturned to help the candidates/students to achieve a successful career and its optimistic vision is what makes College Disha one of the best career counseling companies in India.

How to Become a Career Counselor?

Being a career counselor is a tough job. But if you are passionate about helping people with their career-related problems and you think that you possess enough skills and interest to become a career counselor, then you should definitely start your journey to become a good career counselor. Oh! You don’t know How to become a career counselor?

Don’t worry! Here are the steps to become a career counselor :

Step 1: Complete your 10+2 from any stream (Arts/Humanities preferably) with Psychology as a main or additional subject. As you know psychology is the in-depth study of the mind and behavior of humans. The knowledge of this subject comes into use during the counseling. 

Step 2: After 10+2, Pursue a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (B.A in Psychology or BSc. in Psychology). Doing your major in Psychology will help you understand the various aspects of human behavior. Knowledge of general psychology, personality psychology, counseling psychology, abnormal psychology will allow you to understand your candidate properly. 

Step 3: You can master yourself in the field of career counseling if you hold a Master’s degree in Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Applied Psychology.

Step 4: After getting a Master’s degree in Psychology, you can pursue a 1-year PG Diploma in Guidance and Counseling, if you don’t want to master in Psychology, You can simply go for a PG Diploma alone. Make sure that you pursue the PG Diploma from an institute recognized by RCI ( Rehabilitation Council of India).

Step 5: Join a Career counseling firm, school, college, or start practicing on your own. 

Skills required to Become a Career Counselor in India

The following are the important skills required to become a career counselor in India 

• Good Communication Skills 
• Listening Skills 
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical thinking
• Active Listening 
• Calm and Composed behavior 
• Non-Judgemental 
• Trustable and Maintain Confidentiality
• Active Learner 
• Optimistic behavior

Best courses to Become Career Counselor in India 

Have you made up your mind to pursue your career as a career counselor and now you want to pursue a course associated with this profession. Well, here is the list of best courses to become a career counselor in India :

• Diploma in Counseling & Guidance
• B.A in Psychology 
• BSc. in Psychology 
• M.A in Counseling Psychology 
• MSc. in Counseling Psychology 
• PG Diploma in Career Counseling 
• M.A in Career Counseling
• Certification Course in Career Counseling 

Top Colleges to Become Career Counselors in India 

Are you looking for a college for your “career counseling course”, Well we have shortlisted some colleges that offer courses associated with career guidance and counseling. Have a look :

S.No.	Top Colleges to become Career Counselors in India
1.	Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
2.	Delhi University, Delhi
3.	Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
4.	University of Lucknow
5.	Annamalai University , Chennai
6.	SGT University, Gurgaon
7.	National Institute of Public Cooperation & Child Development, New Delhi
8.	CVM Institute of Human Resource Development, Gujarat

Career Scope in Career Counseling 

What is the career scope in the Career Counseling field? Well, let's talk about the facts. According to a study, there is a counselor-student ratio of 1:3000 in India. This fact proves that career counselors are higher in demand than the actual supply in India. Moreover, the people in the country have now started to recognize the importance of Career counseling in their lives. The Indian market needs more certified career counselors now. Therefore,  One can find immense opportunities in the field of career guidance and counseling if they have enough skills to become a good career guide/ career counselor. The education sector, corporate sector, and NGOs usually hire professional career counselors on the payroll. Apart from working for a particular organization, the candidate can also work on his own business model or work as a self-employed career counselor.

Salary of a Career Counselor in India 

A good career counselor’s earning starts from Rs 1.79 L.P.A  and can go up to Rs 8.05 L.P.A or more depending on his/her counseling skills. The median salary offered to a Career counselor in India is Rs 3.10  lacs. The salary of a career counselor in India is also affected by the years of experience he/she has and his/her success records.

Frequently Asked Questions in a Career Counseling Session

• Which is the best course and career for me?
• Which stream should I opt for after the 10th?
• Can I do this course after that course?
• How can I enhance my strengths and improve my weak areas?
• How can  I get admission to XYZ college?
• How can I make better career decisions?
• I want to do "this" but my parents want me to study that. What should I do?
• I want to change my career path, is it appropriate to switch it now?
• Which is the most highly-paid career for me?
• How can I clear an interview?
• How can I get a job in this company?
• What are the best extra skills that can help me to build my CV stronger?

Do you also have similar questions on your mind? If yes, then Reach out to College Disha, without any second thought or hesitation. Here, you will be guided by the experts of the industry. 

Hurry Up! Unlock your door to success with College Disha!

Click here to fill the enquiry form.